AccorHotels deepens partnership with Chinese travel provider Ctrip

Ctrip.com International, a provider of accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, package tour and corporate travel management and other travel-related services in China, entered into a memorandum of understanding regarding its partnership with AccorHotels.

The partnership will allow Ctrip’s more than 300 million registered users to access personalized experiences from AccorHotels’ global brands portfolio, luxury brands Raffles, Sofitel Legend, Fairmont, SO Sofitel, Sofitel, onefinestay, MGallery by Sofitel, Pullman, Swissôtel and 25hours Hotels, midscale brands Novotel, Mercure, Mama Shelter and Adagio, economy brands Jo&Joe, ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and regional brands Grand Mercure, The Sebel and hotelF1.

AccorHotels operates 4,300 hotels and 10,000 private homes in 100 countries. The MOU is an opportunity for both companies to embark on a deeper cooperation, with the goal of enhancing the travel experience for the growing number of Chinese travelers. The partnership will focus on four strategic pillars, including highlighting AccorHotels accredited hotels more prominently, building a flagship store for AccorHotels, joint development of loyalty programs and cooperation on IT.

“We are very excited to be deepening our partnership with AccorHotels. With the ever growing number of outbound Chinese travellers, we are always looking for ways to provide better services for our customers and with the deepened AccorHotels relationship, we are able to offer magnified experiences and property choices,” Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip, said in a statement. “With the diverse range of hotels offered by AccorHotels, Ctrip customers will have access to a vast majority of its hotels globally.”

“We are pleased to take the partnership with Ctrip to the next level, and proud to be a privileged hospitality partner of Ctrip,” Sebastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of AccorHotels, said in a statement. “Our role is to provide hospitality expertise to all segments of the market. We want to offer Chinese guests our know-how and service skills in order to become their preferred hospitality group.

"AccorHotels will also launch its own program to train and certify at least 250 hotels by 2020 on Chinese Optimum Standards," Bazin said. "These properties will be trained to answer major Chinese guests’ expectations, aligned with our strong ambition on this market. As China’s preeminent travel agency, Ctrip, with its over 300 million registered users is definitely a strategic partner of AccorHotels in the region.”